The Patient
by ministryofmadeline
Summary: All her life she had heard of it. She had given up on it. Until they showed up. Set - LWW to undecided
1. The Professor's Niece

Ophelia has been staying with her Uncle Digory for what felt like an eternity. Her parents trusted him the most to look after her while the war was going on and Ophelia was more than happy to spend time with her uncle. He was definitely one of her favorite people in the whole world. As a child, he would tell her all about a magical land called, Narnia. It was a world filled with trees that danced and animals that talked and the most amazing lion named, Aslan. She always tried to get to Narnia whenever she could when she was a child. After a few years she gave up, her uncle saying to her, " _If you are truly meant to find Narnia, Narnia will find you_ ". She had hoped her uncle was right, but she had given up most of her faith.

Today, a family was coming to stay at her uncle's house. The professor had written back and forth with their mother about them staying there and Ophelia had learned that there were four children, but she couldn't remember their names. Nonetheless, they were coming today so she would get to see them soon enough. Ophelia woke up around 8, Mrs. Macready had just left to pick up the kids. Ophelia smiled and rushed to her dresser to pick out her outfit, she couldn't wait to have other children in the house with her. After dressing, Ophelia headed downstairs to grab some breakfast with her Uncle.

"Good morning Uncle Digory!" she said giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. He laughed quietly, "Good morning to you too, Ophelia. You're quite chipper this morning! Excited about the Pevensie children arriving"

 _Pevensie, that's their surname!_ she thought to herself.

"Oh yes, Uncle! It's going to be so fun having other children in the house with me! Don't get me wrong Uncle, having you for company is more than grand but it's nice to know I'll have some company from people around my age."

Her uncle laughed at his niece, she had spoken without pausing to take a breath for at least 60 seconds.

"Yes Ophelia, it will be quite exciting to have them here with us," he paused and leaned in closer to Ophelia and whispered, "let's hope Mrs. Macready feels the same way." Ophelia winced, "She won't."

Ophelia and the professor had finished breakfast just as Mrs. Macready arrived back home with the Pevensie children. She quickly brought her plate to the sink and rushed to the door.

"Aren't you coming, Uncle Digory?" He stood and brought his plate to the sink just as she did.

"Not now dear, I have some work to finish up. Let them know that I look forward to meeting them later on today." She nodded, "Yes, Uncle".

Ophelia raced downstairs and saw them in the parlor.

"Good morning, Mrs. Macready!" Ophelia said cheerfully knowing it would startle and annoy her. Mrs. Macready jumped and turned around. She took in a deep breath and said, "Oh Ophelia, good I'm glad you're here," she then gestured to the four people in front of her, "These are the Pevensies. This is Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy." Ophelia smiled and reached out her hand to Peter, "Very nice to meet you! I'm Ophelia Collins, the professor is my uncle." Peter shook her hand, obviously taken back by her forwardness and kindness.

"Nice to meet you too. Where is your uncle, we would like to thank him for letting us stay with him."

"My uncle is busy working right now but he said he is very excited to meet you later tonight."

Peter nodded and then Ophelia offered to show the Pevensies to their rooms which "the Macready" greatly appreciated (she would do anything to avoid interacting with kids). She lead them after their rooms, Susan and Lucy's room was first. "Here we are, Susan and Lucy. You'll be sharing a room with me if that's alright."

"Of course it is" said Susan, "Come on Lu, let's set up all of our stuff." Ophelia then lead the boys down the hall to their room. "And this room belongs to you boys. Just down the hall from your sisters and I." Edmund immediately went inside and put his bag on one of the beds while Peter stayed at the door. He turned toward Ophelia and smiled, "Thank you again, you've been so kind to my siblings and I. It means a lot to me, I'm supposed to look after them." Ophelia could tell he was nervous, "I know how you feel, I have a brother but he's 18 so he's off fighting in the war with my dad. I've never had to really worry about anyone younger than me, but having your dad and brother fighting in a war and you don't know if they're going to come back is pretty terrifying". Peter laughed and turned toward his brother, "Wow Ed, you're already unpacked!" The younger boy looked at Peter with an "are you kidding me" sort of look before saying, "I am capable of being a competent human being, Pete. Just because you don't believe in me,"

"Edmund that is _not_ true!" Edmund just looked sad and angry and frustrated all at the same time. Ophelia's heart broke for these brothers and she didn't even know them.

"I'll leave you two alone for now and I'll let you know when lunch is ready." Peter nodded and mouthed a "thank you". Ophelia thought about what Edmund said for most of that day, she hoped that he would eventually feel differently.

It was now time for bed and Peter and Edmund came into the girls' room to tuck Lucy in. The radio was on but Susan turned it off when it started mentioning all of the bombings.

"Sheets feel scratchy" said Lucy, frowning. Susan sat down on Lucy's bed, "Wars don't last forever, Lucy. We'll be home soon." Edmund scoffed, "Yeah, if home's still there." Susan groaned at her younger brother, "Isn't it time you were in bed?" "Yes, mum" he replied sarcastically.

"Ed!" Peter said firmly which kept him quiet. Ophelia moved over to Lucy's bed from her own, "You guys saw this place, it's huge! We can do whatever we want here." She assured Lucy, and Peter added on, "Yeah Lu, tomorrow is going to be great"

Unfortunately, the next day came with rain so the kids stayed inside all day. They were all currently in a fascinating game of "guess the root of the word". However the only one enjoying themselves was Susan because she knew all of the answers.

"Gastrovascular" Susan said, but no one answered her.

"Come on Peter, gastrovascular!" she said with annoyance in her voice. Peter rolled his eyes and look at his sister, "Is it Latin?" he asked and she smiled, "yes"

"Is it Latin for: worst game ever invented?" Edmund said with a laugh, making Peter and Ophelia giggle. Lucy stood up and walked toward Peter, "We could play hide and seek!" Peter looked at Susan with a smug look on his face, "But we're already having so much fun!" Susan glared at him. Ophelia, who was lying on the couch said "This place is so huge, we could play a really wicked game of hide and seek."

"Come on Peter, please!" Lucy begged. He eventually gave in, "One, two, three" and they were off. Ophelia knew where the best hiding spots were so she rushed up the stairs but as soon as she got comfortable in her spot and Peter stopped counting, Lucy started yelling.

"It's alright, I'm back! I'm alright!" she started yelling. Ophelia rushed towards her, and found her with Edmund and Peter, not hiding. "You know, I'm not sure you two have the right idea about this game". Lucy looked confused, "Weren't you wondering where I was?"

"That's the point. That's why he was seeking you" Edmund pointed out as Susan walked in, "Does this mean I win?" Peter turns toward Susan, "I don't think Lucy wants to play anymore."

"I've been gone for hours" Lucy stated and they all looked at her incredulously. She couldn't have been gone hours, the game had only just begun. Ophelia stepped forward, "If you've been gone for hours, where did you go and what did you do?" Lucy grew a great big smile on her face, "Well I went to go hide in the wardrobe in the spare room, but when I went inside I discovered a magical land called, Narnia!"

Ophelia could physically feel her heart race. Could it be real? Could what Lucy was saying be true? Had Narnia come to find her after all these years? There was only one way to find out, and Ophelia ran as fast as she could to that wardrobe not caring if the Pevensies thought she was crazy.

She had to know if it was real.

-madeline x.


	2. Impossible

_Ophelia could physically feel her heart race. Could it be real? Could what Lucy was saying be true? Had Narnia come to find her after all these years? There was only one way to find out, and Ophelia ran as fast as she could to that wardrobe not caring if the Pevensies thought she was crazy._

 _She had to know if it was real._

"Ophelia, wait!" yelled Peter.

"Where are you going?" shouted Susan.

"She possibly can't believe in this, right?" she heard Edmund ask Peter.

Ophelia pushed open the door to the spare room and ran into the wardrobe, hoping. But when she pushed passed the coats that hung in there, all that was there was the back of the wardrobe. She rested her head on the wood for a moment and sighed before walking out to find the Pevensies looking at her.

"Lucy did my Uncle tell you about Narnia?" Ophelia asked the smallest Pevensie. She shook her head, "No, I hadn't heard of Narnia until I went there myself. Why? Has the professor been there too?!" Ophelia shrugged, "I don't know, he used to tell me all these stories about Narnia and I always used to pray that I would get to go there one day too but as I got older I gave up hope but when you said you went there, I thought maybe it was real again." She hung her head before turning to look back at the wardrobe again. Peter, Edmund and Susan kind of just looked confused and concerned for the well being of their sister and their new friend. Peter cleared his throat before saying, "Lucy, why don't we leave Ophelia alone for a while." Before leading his siblings out of the room. Ophelia continued to look at the wardrobe, baffled. Then she finally processed what Lucy said.

 _"No, I hadn't heard of Narnia until I went there myself."_

"She hadn't heard about it from Uncle Digory" she whispered to herself and smiled. Narnia was real, she trusted Lucy but knew she had to keep quiet. The other children would need to experience Narnia themselves in order to believe it was real. So Ophelia decided just to keep quiet about the subject around the other Pevensies. Ophelia spent the rest of the day just lounging in her room, sketching and writing while the Pevensies did pretty much the same thing. After this afternoon, no one really wanted to play anymore. Before they knew it, it was time for bed.

During the middle of the night, Ophelia woke up to the sound of her door creaking and noticed Lucy out of bed. She put on her boots and followed her down the hall. Lucy went into the spare room and Ophelia rushed after her.

"Lucy!" she whisper shouted and Lucy turned around.

"Ophelia, why are you following me? Have you come to see Narnia with me?" Lucy asked.

"Do you mind?" Lucy shook her head, "Of course not! I'm glad you believe me." The two girls entered the wardrobe and after a moment it got really cold and Lucy led them further and further into the wardrobe. The wind blew out the candle that Lucy had brought so they knew they were close. Just a few moments later they stepped out into a huge winter wonderland.

"It's real", she whispered. She turned toward Lucy, "I have been waiting for this my whole life! This means more to me than anything ever will. Thank you Lucy, it's because of you that Narnia came to me." Lucy shook her head, "No, you were meant to find it and you would have found it without me. Now come on! I want you to meet Mr. Tumnus, the faun I met earlier!"

The two girls walked through the snow until they reached the faun's home and Lucy was so glad that he was okay. "Mr. Tumnus could have gotten in a lot of trouble because of me. He is supposed to report any humans he finds to the White Witch." The whole visit consisted of Ophelia learning about the White Witch and her evil doings in Narnia. _Always Winter, never Christmas._ The girls didn't stay too long, they didn't want to risk being found so left after some tea. The walk back to the wardrobe was filled with talking between the two girls until Ophelia saw something - someone in the distance.

"Edmund?" Ophelia yelled and Lucy finally saw him too. She ran towards her big brother and gave him a big hug, "Oh Edmund you got in too isn't it wonderful?!" He squirms to get himself out of her grip. "Where have you two been?"

"With Mr. Tumnus, hes fine! The White Witch hasn't found out anything about him meeting me!" Edmund looked confused, "The White Witch?" he asked and Lucy leaned in closer, "She calls herself the queen of Narnia, but she really isn't." Ophelia noticed how uneasy Edmund looked, "Are you alright?" Lucy nodded, "You look awful." Edmund furrowed his eyebrows before replying, "Well what do you expect? It's freezing! How do we get out of here?" The girls led him back past the lamppost and through the wardrobe back into the professor's house.

Lucy ran into Peter's room and started shaking him, "Peter, Peter wake up! Peter wake up, it's there it's really there!" Peter shifted over, eyes still shut, "Lucy what are you talking about?" By this point, Edmund and Ophelia had been joined by Susan in the boys' room. "Narnia, it's all in the wardrobe like I told you!" Susan shushed her, "You've just been dreaming Lucy."

"But I haven't! I saw Mr. Tumnus again and this time Ophelia and Edmund went too!" As soon as Lucy said that, Ophelia knew that it wasn't going to go well. There was no way that Peter and Susan would believe them but she wasn't going to let down Lucy. "It's true," Ophelia started and as she suspected, Peter and Susan looked at her like she was insane. "I know you don't believe us but it's true, I promise." Peter looked to his brother, "You saw the faun?" Edmund began to shake his head and Lucy said, "Well, he didn't actually go there with us." After pausing for a moment Lucy asked, "What were you doing Edmund?" Ophelia could sense that this probably wasn't going to end well.

"I was just playing along," _Oh no,_ "I'm sorry Pete, I shouldn't have encouraged them but, you know what little children are like these days, they just don't know when to stop." Lucy burst into tears and ran out of the room and Ophelia couldn't hold in her anger anymore. "Are you serious right now Edmund?! You are such a jerk and a liar! You know bloody well that Narnia is real and you have no right to talk to Lucy that way!" Ophelia began to storm out of the room to find Lucy but spun around once more to see a shocked looking Peter, Susan and Edmund. "Also, I am 14 years old, I am _not_ a "little child".

Once again Ophelia ran out of the room only this time she was followed by Peter and Susan. When Ophelia, Peter and Susan finally caught up with Lucy, she was hugging the Professor. Mrs. Macready must have heard all the noise because she came running up the stairs, "You children are one shenanigan shy of sleeping in the stable!" She stopped when she saw the professor, "Professor... I'm sorry. I told them you were not to be disturbed."

"It's alright Mrs. Macready, I'm sure there's an explanation. But first of all I think this one is in need of a little hot chocolate" talking about Lucy, sending her off with Mrs. Macready. Ophelia stayed by her uncle but Peter and Susan tried to leave. The professor cleared his throat and the two oldest Pevensies turned around. "Uncle Digory, we really must talk."

The professor took his niece and Peter and Susan into his study to discuss the matter at hand. "You seem to have upset the delicate eternal balance of my housekeeper." Peter replied, "We're very sorry sir, it won't happen again."

"It's our sister, sir. Lucy" Susan informed him. "The weeping girl." Susan nodded, "Yes, sir. She's upset"

"Hence the weeping."

"It's nothing, we can handle it." Peter said.

"Oh I can see that." The professor replied before writing again. Susan paused for a moment before saying, "She thinks she's discovered a magical land." The professor nodded and Susan continued, "In the upstairs wardrobe." The professor lifted his head to look at Susan, then to Peter and finally to his niece who just nodded. He got out of his chair, "Well what was it like?"

"Like talking to a lunatic!" Susan said to him. He shook his head, "No no no not her, the forest." Peter looked at him like he didn't hear what just came out of his mouth, "You're not saying you believe her!" Now it was the Professor's turn to look confused, "You don't?"

"Well of course not! I mean logically it's impossible" replied Susan. The professor looked over to his niece who was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, "What do they teach in schools these days?" Ophelia shook her head. Peter responded, "Edmund said they were just pretending." Ophelia scoffed, quietly but still. Her uncle seemed to know exactly what she was thinking, "And he's usually the more truthful one is he?" Peter replied quite quickly, "No, this would be the first time."

The professor seemed to think this was the easiest situation to solve, "Well if she's not mad and she's not mad then _logically,"_ he paused and looked at Susan, "you must assume she's telling the truth." The professor lit his pipe and Peter said, "So you're saying we should just believe them?" The professor tilted his eyebrow, "Them?" Peter and Susan looked back towards their new friend. "It found me, Uncle Digory." He smiled and nodded, knowing not to pry with her part in the situation anymore. He looked back at Susan and Peter and said, "Never mind Ophelia, Lucy's your sister isn't she? You're family, you might just try acting like one."

The three teenagers left the office and walked back to their rooms. Ophelia contemplated if she should say something to Peter and Susan but decided against it. Tomorrow was a new day, who knows what it'll bring. After breakfast the next morning, the children decided to spend time outside because it was the first nice day since the Pevensies arrived. Susan, Peter and Edmund were playing but Lucy decided to read and Ophelia wanted to journal. She wasn't really paying attention until Ophelia heard Edmund yell, "Ow!"

"Whoops!" Peter laughed, "Wake up, Dolly Daydream!" Susan threw the ball back to Peter and Edmund said, "Why can't we play hide and seek again?" Ophelia laughed and looked up from her notepad, "I thought you said it was a kids game." Edmund looked down and Susan said, "Besides, we could all use the fresh air!" Edmund looked to his sister, "t's not like there isn't air inside."

"Are you ready?" Peter asked and Edmund replied, "Are you?" Peter threw him the ball and Edmund struck it hard. So hard that it hit a window and broke the glass. They all ran into the house and found the room with the broken window. The ball knocked over a full suit of armor and Ophelia had to restrain herself from laughing. Peter shook his head, "Well done, Ed." "You bowled it!" From downstairs they heard, "What on earth is going on up there?" Panicked, Susan yelled, "The Macready!" Peter lead them out of the room. "Come on!" They all ran out trying to get as far away from Mrs. Macready as possible. However, no matter where they were it sounded like she was right behind them. Edmund ran into a room and the others followed. It just so happened to be the room they were all trying to avoid, and Edmund was opening the door to the wardrobe. "Come on!" he urged. "You've got to be joking" said Susan. But they didn't have time to argue because the footsteps were getting closer.

Edmund then Susan, Ophelia, Peter and Lucy ran into the wardrobe. "Get back" whispered Peter. That just led to the shouting of "You're stepping on my toe!" and "I'm not on your toe!" and other useless things. They just kept pushing back and back until they fell down into the cold snow. Susan and Peter stood up and looked around themselves, completely in sync. "Impossible" Susan whispered. Lucy stepped out from behind them and said, "Don't worry, I'm sure it's just your imagination." Ophelia giggled and slung her arm around Lucy. Peter looked at the two girls in front of him, "I don't suppose saying we're sorry would quite cover it." Ophelia frowned and said "No, it wouldn't". Out of nowhere she threw a snowball at his face, "But that might!" An all out snowball fight began until one hit Edmund, "Ow! Stop it!"

Peter looked extremely angry, "You little liar!" Edmund yelled, "You didn't believe them either!" Peter moved towards his brother, "Apologize to Lucy and Ophelia," when Edmund didn't Peter roared, "Say you're sorry!"

"Alright! I'm sorry." Ophelia walked forward, "That's alright, some little children just don't know when to stop pretending." Edmund rolled his eyes and whispered, "Very funny."

Susan looked worried, "Maybe we should go back." But Edmund said, "Shouldn't we at least take a look around?" Peter smirked and said, "I think Lucy should decide." Her little face lit up with her big brother's words. "I'd like you all to meet Mr. Tumnus!" Peter smiled, "Well then Mr. Tumnus it is!" He then turned back and walked toward the wardrobe. Susan looked at him like he was crazy, "But we can't go hiking in the snow dressed like this!" Ophelia nodded and said, "No, but I'm sure my uncle wouldn't mind us using those." Referring to the coats Peter was passing out. "Anyway, If you think about it _logically,_ we're not even taking them out of the wardrobe." Peter handed a coat to Edmund, "But that's a girls' coat!" Peter nodded, "I know."

hello! here's chapter 2! please feel free to comment/follow/fav!

love, madeline x.


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